Rise of Venice is out this Friday, new trailer shows the trade system at play

A new trailer for the upcoming trade building sim Rise of Venice has been released, detailing the buy-low, sell-high mechanics of the game's economic routes. It also features the soothing tones of the game's narrator; I don't think a trailer has been this relaxing since those Leviathan: Warships smooth jazz trailers. It must be something about boats.

“In this game, your goal is to rise from a simple shopkeeper to a powerful merchant,” the narrator intones. The essence of the game is in organizing trade routes by exporting the goods your city produces, trading them for something your city needs, and repeating until you've built a tidy little empire. You'll have to contend with other traders, fluctuating prices, and marauding pirates to earn your riches and make your way in the renaissance-era Mediterranean.

Rise of Venice is being created by German developer Kalypso Media, previously of the Tropico series and the much-loved RTS Sins of a Solar Empire . It was also unfortunately the creator of the mess of vampire clichés that was Dark , but hopefully we can call that a one-off, and its strategy games will continue to be good fun.